Which Kitchen Floor, ideas please

[snowscreen]

Hi all,

The time has come to try and improve my kitchen on a budget.

It's a pretty pathetic kitchen, I've just finished pulling up the old self adhesive floor tiles that were down.

Fortunately these came off quite easily and haven't left any old adhesive down.


Due to budget we want to avoid ripping the whole kitchen out and so the plan is to do the following.




1st, lay a new floor. This is what I'd like to do asap (few days off work next week to do so)

We can't decide on what to go for, better looking vinyl tiles which would be cheap and easy, BUT I can't help but feel they look too plain and like the old floor,


I quite like this white gloss laminate and feel it'll brighten the room aswell as modernise it.

Otherhalf however doesn't like them.

http://www.wickes.co.uk/high-gloss-white-laminate-flooring/invt/219474/



Any thoughts or ideas?



2nd stage will be replacing the worktop, looking for a darker colour. New kitchen sink etc.



We'll then re-tile and re-paint.
We'll also then look to replace cupboard doors and handles.


1st aim is the floor, then worktop, sink, tiles, paint.


Kitchen as it is now, following removal of floor






Shows the old vinyl floor tile colour




Do you think the white gloss floor would be a bad idea, if so any recommendations.

Due to ease of fitting and cost we want to avoid real tiles.



Thanks

 

[crazydaze]

The floor should always be the last thing to be fitted, far less risk of damaging your new floor whilst building work tops etc. The units should NEVER be fitted ontop of the laminate, but it sounds like you will be leaving the carcass in place and just replacing worktops, doos, kick boards etc so there should not be an issue there.

There's nothing wrong with laminate in a Kitchen, it's always to fit right under and to the back of any freestanding appliances. Best to avoid leaving spills on the top surface of any cheaper laminate just to prevent moisture ingression into joints, and NEVER wash or wet mop a laminate floor. The best way to clean would be to wipe over with laminate floor cleaner and a microfibre cloth, there are plenty of long handled flat head mops that come with the right attachment.

When it comes to ANY gloss finish product, they will show any grease marks, sweaty feet marks etc so you will want to clean the floor regularly every day so it's quite a high maintenance finish to keep looking good.

 

[dbinit]

Lost my last account details.. Its been a while since I was posting here

For sure the gloss will show up any grease / marks much easier.

One thing to be weary of with this laminate and others like it is that the V-Groove may be painted or stained MDF/HDF. The disclaimers inside the packaging will be very clear that although the floor is suitable for a kitchen a spillage can void your warranty. Go figure .. So if you get a spillage the moisture can penetrate it much easier causing it to bubble. It's worth using a moisture joint sealant , that is applied to the V-groove surface after use. Not the ones that go in the click system as the V-Groove is still exposed. I think Kronotech , or Kronswiss do one like this. If I can find online I will post it up. It is something I have been envious of that we don't sell but should.

If not just be sure to clean any moisture out of the V if there is a spillage to reduce the risk of this happening.

Darren Burns
Technical Director

Wooden Floor Shop Ltd
Wood Floor Warehouse Ltd
Wood Floor Imports Ltd
Floor Trade Tools

 

[Lusi83]

Avoid ANY white kitchen floor like the plague ...unless someone else has to clean it, you don't have children/pets and you are both incredibly tidy!
I have pale cream tile effect laminate (persuaded because it would look better than a darker one with the dark grey worktops) and ideally it needs mopping every day! (And it has a speckled effect and is not gloss!)
I lived in a shared house with white ceramic tiles and the same story - constant cleaning...

As to mopping laminate etc - I do - in fact recently I have been steam mopping it...it is B&Q tileloc stuff -about 4 years old now and wasn't expensive and not sealed.
In fact I clean all my laminate like this - not just in the kitchen- but all downstairs - and that is just the universal loc stuff.
It had a 12 year guarantee and it is almost 12 years old and starting to look a bit shoddy in places ...but then again it has been abused - really mucky children, spilled drinks - probably most wear & tear caused by the grit walked in in Winter (even though we have a shoes off policy it has ruined our stair carpet - 'only' about 9 years old -and has needed replacing for the last 3 years) - only one area - which suffered a serious soak from a leaking radiator (thankfully hidden behind a chair) - has gone a bit gappy...

 

[crazydaze]

Don't use steam cleaners on laminate or wood floors, the floors guarantees won't cover steam damage in the same way hat they won't cover water damage caused by mopping the floor etc.

 

[Lusi83]

Sorry I should made that clear - I know what the instructions/guarantees say ..but after a year or so of faffing one day I tried mopping it and it was fine ..I guess I decided that a new easier to maintain floor would be preferable to one that I had to mess about with ...
Same with the steam mop - tried with caution first -

So I think I should have said 'I have got away with' but know that if it wrecks it it will be my own fault...

 

[crazydaze]

Sorry I should made that clear - I know what the instructions/guarantees say ..but after a year or so of faffing one day I tried mopping it and it was fine ..I guess I decided that a new easier to maintain floor would be preferable to one that I had to mess about with ...
Same with the steam mop - tried with caution first -

So I think I should have said 'I have got away with' but know that if it wrecks it it will be my own fault...

A flat headed microfiber mop and laminate spray cleaner should clear anything off in seconds and won't damage the boards, it won't dry streaky either.

 

[Lusi83]

A flat headed microfiber mop and laminate spray cleaner should clear anything off in seconds and won't damage the boards, it won't dry streaky either.

You obviously don't live with my children
Crayon, Felt tip pen, pencil, paint, dried yoghurt/cereal/juice...the list is endless!

 

[DIYHomefit]

This is going to sound like the dumbest reply, but first check out how laminated (or shiny) the tiles are. I don't know how to explain this, but I had trouble with matte surfaces when it came to cleaning them - I think it's because there's more friction etc with them.

Anyway if you don't get what I'm saying, just ignore it (I tend to talk gibberish )

The white should be avoided unless you're willing to clean your floor twice a day! Also when cleaning, try to avoid mopping with water - excess water can get into the tile cracks.